Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer with the Ridgefield Police Dept., addresses the media Tuesday afternoon during a press conference regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 in Ridgefield, Conn.

Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer with the Ridgefield Police Dept., addresses the media Tuesday afternoon during a press conference regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July

Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer with the Ridgefield Police Dept., ends a press conference regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, refusing to take questions from the media, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 in Ridgefield, Conn. less

Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer with the Ridgefield Police Dept., ends a press conference regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, refusing to take questions from the media, Tuesday, ... more

Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer with the Ridgefield Police Dept., addresses the media Tuesday afternoon during a press conference regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 in Ridgefield, Conn. less

Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer with the Ridgefield Police Dept., addresses the media Tuesday afternoon during a press conference regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July ... more

Members of the media wait outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 in Ridgefield, Conn. less

Members of the media wait outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, ... more

Members of the media wait outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 in Ridgefield, Conn. less

Members of the media wait outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, ... more

Media vans are parked outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. where journalists wait for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 in Ridgefield, Conn. less

Media vans are parked outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. where journalists wait for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child ... more

Media vans are parked outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. where journalists wait for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child left in a hot car, Tuesday, July 8, 2014 in Ridgefield, Conn. less

Media vans are parked outside the Ridgefield Police Dept. where journalists wait for Captain Jeff Kreitz, public information officer Dept., to address the media Tuesday afternoon regarding the death of a child ... more

RIDGEFIELD -- Town police continue to investigate the death of a 15-month-old boy who was left in a parked car for several hours on Monday while temperatures approached 90 degrees.

In a news release, police said they learned of the boy's death about 6 p.m. Monday, but provided no details about the boy's name or family, where the car had been parked or who was responsible for him.

During a brief news conference on the police department lawn, Capt. Jeff Kreitz read the statement saying the toddler had been "left unattended inside a parked vehicle for an extended period of time." But he refused to answer questions from a crowd of reporters representing a dozen media outlets in Connecticut and New York.

An autopsy performed on the child Tuesday was not conclusive, according to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The result was listed as "pending further studies" Tuesday afternoon.

The child's death in Ridgefield comes on the heels of incidents around the state in which parents have been charged with leaving small children unattended in vehicles during hot weather, and the case of a Georgia man facing prosecution for the death of his child.

More Information

Closed-car deaths of children44: Number of children who died of automobile heat-related deaths across the country last year.15: Number of children killed in such incidents as of Tuesday.10: Number of minutes it takes for a closed car's inside temperature to reach 100 degrees on and 85-degree daySource: Connecticut State Police

Last week, Orange police arrested a Shelton woman on charges she left her 3-year-old son in a parked car. Police said the child's mother, Nathalie Stonier, 36, was on a shopping trip to Trader Joe's on the Boston Post Road when police got a call that a child had been left unattended.

The child was unharmed but Stonier faces charges of risk of injury to a minor and leaving a child under 12 unsupervised in a motor vehicle.

A few days earlier, police in New London charged Brian Pavao, 33, of Groton, with risk of injury to a minor in a similar incident.

In the Georgia case, Justin Ross Harris was charged with murder after his 22-month-old son, Cooper, died after being left in a car for several hours.

State police on Tuesday issued a news release warning of the danger of leaving children unattended in hot vehicles. The release did not mention the Ridgefield incident.

"Children should never be left in a locked car and should not ever have access to unlocked, parked vehicles or trunks in this hot humid weather," the release stated.

Last year, 44 children died in automobile heat-related deaths across the country, state police said in the release. Another 15 have died so far this year.

State police said it takes only minutes for the dry heat inside a vehicle in the summer to cause dangerous thermal injuries to children.

For Ridgefield resident Barbara Baughman, every such case makes her think back 12 years to the day she and her children were unpacking the car to move into a new home.

It had become the kids' practice to take their infant sister, Emma, from her car seat themselves, but on that hot day they simply forgot, Baughman said.

"About 45 minutes into unpacking we realized she's still in the car," Baughman said.

Rushing outside, she found her daughter alive and well, thanks to the lowered windows on the vehicle.

"It's very sad and sometimes it's very easy for it to happen," she said. "I'll never forget that feeling."

On Tuesday, Baughman and Emma, now 13, drove to the Ridgefield police station to drop off a stack of static-cling car stickers the family designed several years ago to raise awareness about the danger of leaving children unattended in cars.

"It's a simple idea to remind people to remind people that closed cars don't breathe," Baughman said.